The funniest thing ever

Lucy, the cow whisperer

Maui Wednesday

Airport --> Mama's Fish House

First thing first, a Mai Tai for me, and a Relaxer for Chris at our beachfront table

For an appetizer we shared macadamia nut crab cakes

Mmm... probably the best meal we had in Hawaii - I got panko crusted gingery seared ahi with kalua pig fried rice and kim chee... caught by the fishing vessel "Pacific Reflection". Chris had Uku in a buttery white wine sauce with lemongrass rice pilaf and carrots - caught by Kelly Becker near Molokai

The Beach in Front of Mama's - you can tell we just got to Hawaii cuz I'm wearing a sweater

Thanks Family! A chilled bottle of champagne was waiting for us in our room when we arrived!

Yum! Champagne on our balcony

Our first Maui sunset

Maui Thursday

Our first full day in Maui started with a beautiful drive along the coast to West Maui - through Wailea, Kihei, Lahaina, Ka'anapali, and Napili... I think we like to get the lay of the land. We were looking for a snorkeling spot from our guide book. Of course there was no sign, so after driving back and forth a few times, we parked and walked through lush forest - full of chickens (?) - to Honolua Bay. It was a lil scary getting into the water - it was overcast, rocky, and there were only a few other people around. Once we got into the water and started swimming around it was beautiful - colorful fish galore! After we drove up to a lookout point and bought a papaya.

We headed to Aloha Mixed Plate for some Hawaiian fare - kalua pig, poi, maui sweet onion rings and local beer. Of course this place was right on the water and we set out on the deck. We checked Lahaina out a little bit - the banyan tree square, and drove down the main shopping road - but decided to head back and stop at another snorkeling spot - Olowalu.

and we saw a giant goat cross the street

We spent the afternoon relaxing on our beach (right in front of the hotel) with some sparrows

We headed to Wailea to walk along the beach path and watch the sunset. We spotted a group of whales that were breaching over and over again and of course we had the binoculars, so it was quite a show. We also saw a lot of the swanky hotels and started looking for a place to get a drink.

We ended up at the restaurant at the Grand Wailea - Humu­humu­nuku­nuku­āpuaʻa -they had a lot of enticing cocktails, but we couldnt resist ordering a giant rummy drink for two - it came in a huge wine glass thing, and other people at the bar congratulated us for getting it :)

We weren't that hungry, so we order the pupu platter - a taste of four of their desserts and it was amazing. The best were the ribs, but there was also a scallop on a taro cake, tiger shrimp, and a lemongrass ahi tuna stick thing. Mmmm...

Maui Friday

We spent the morning on "our beach" in front of our hotel, snorkeling, relaxing, aahhhhhh

For lunch we went to this Aunt-Lu-recommended taco truck and had delicious shrimp tacos. We kept driving into the Ahihi Kinau Natural Reserve and - you guessed it - snorkeled!

This is near an amazing snorkeling spot where we saw an eel - and he saw us! He came out of his hole and was glaring at us! I swear! Then he slithered off...
Lava Flow of 1790
Next, we walked along Big Beach - the water and sand were so vibrant...

A glass of wine as we got ready for the....

LUAU! Wow, as soon as we walked in we got beautiful lei's and a mai tai! Awesome! Right on the water, a band playing, everyone so relaxed and joyous....

Kalua pig demonstration thing. They cook the pig underground.

Amazing buffet with a gazillion different things- salmon bruschetta, purple yams, steak, fish, poi, etc...

Saturday in Maui

Today was jam packed. It started at 5:45 when we woke up to go on a catamaran - the Kai Kanani- out to Molokini Crater to snorkel. Amazing! We stopped at Turtle town and saw some Sea Turtles and more fish... Ooh!
there's our hotel on the beach

Molokini at Dawn

Here's our hotels lobby

Ho'okipa Beach on the North side of Maui

Next we headed up to Haleakala, stopping at Ho'okipa Beach to check the waves. As we wound up the volcano we went through a lot of different environments and ascended 10,000 feet in about an hour- into the clouds. We couldn't see very far when we got to the summit but it was neat and very lunar looking. On our way up we realized we didn't have much gas, so we were a bit alarmed when the gas light came on when we started the car to leave. Like a pro, Chris coasted us down the volcano- 50ish miles to the nearest gas station.

Silver Sword plant

Haleakala

Next stop - Ulupakalua Ranch General Store for some burgers from a local meat company. Delicious! Chris got elk, which wasn't as good as my beef burger. Across the street was Mauis only winery where we tasted and bought some wine- pineapply!

Weird mailbox on the way to Goat Farm

We were pretty tired at this point but decided to stop anyway at the Surfing Goat Dairy- the best thing ever- we toured the dairy, got to milk a goat, feed baby goats, and taste the best goat cheese I've ever had! I love goats!
Chris is such a goat milker!

the "business end"

rectangular eyes

My birthdays comin up - I want a baby goat!

there was also this pig thing walking around...

When we got back Chris was really tired, so while he rested I went to the beach to watch the beautiful sunset and whales and go for a swim.

Humpback whale fins and blowholes through my binoculars.

Oohhh

Aahhhh

Glorg!

We had quite a spread that evening - 2 kinds of goat cheese - Ole (jalapeno, cilantro and lime) and Maui's Secret (sicilian spices), maui potato chips, salami, crackers, and delicious red wine. What a day!